When Religion Becomes Evil: Five Warning Signs (plus)

WHEN RELIGION BECOMES EVIL  CHARLES KIMBALL For Kyle Yates, Hugo Culpepper, and Wilfred Cantwell Smith Mentors and friends who no longer “see through a glass dimly” CONTENTS Preface to the Revised Edition v Introduction 1 one Is Religion the Problem? 15 two Absolute Truth Claims 49 three Blind Obedience 81 four Establishing the “Ideal” Time 110 five The End Justifies Any Means 137 six Declaring Holy War 166 seven An Inclusive Faith Rooted in a Tradition 199 Acknowledgments 229 Glossary of Key Terms 233 Notes 245 Selected Bibliography 267 Index 269 About the Author Cover Copyright About the Publisher PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION Multiple events have shaped the global landscape since the publication of When Religion Becomes Evil in 2002. It would not be an overstatement to say that we have been bombarded with numerous, interconnected, and often conflicting images on issues at the heart of this book. The role of many groups and individuals claiming inspiration or divine mandates from God have become an increasingly visible-and often violent-factor of the global landscape. This is especially true of Islam, the world’s second largest religion. New examples demonstrating the “five warning signs” presented in this book abound. Multiyear sectarian conflict between Sunnis and Shi’ites in Iraq, the growth of Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, as well as international concern with extremist groups wreaking havoc in Great Britain illustrate the point. And yet, despite several cover stories on Time and Newsweek, extensive reporting on several 24/7 cable news channels, and countless stories in major newspapers and other broadcast media, many people remained confused about even the most basic information. The problem was illustrated dramatically on October 17, 2006, when the New York Times featured an op-ed article by Jeff Stein titled, “Can You Tell a Sunni from a Shi’ite?” Stein spent several months interviewing top counterterrorism officials in Washington, D.C., and various congressional leaders sitting on select intelligence committees. Five vi Preface to the Revised Edition years after the September 11 attacks and well into the fourth year of the war in Iraq, most “leaders” in the unfolding “war on terrorism” were flummoxed by the most basic questions about Islam and distinctions between the major Sunni and Shi’ite branches—both in general and as they relate to highly visible and sometimes violent groups with political agendas. Having spent a great deal of time in Washington over the past quarter century, I was not at all surprised by Stein’s sobering revelation. Although we might expect or hope that government and political leaders would be exceedingly well informed about such vital matters, they often simply mirror the larger society. After more than five hundred media interviews and several hundred question-andanswer sessions following lectures or panel discussions during the past five years, I know that many people continue to operate with what might be called detailed ignorance. They have many pieces of informa